StarCrusher
by sadchild
Summary: Ventus is a young mechanic with a big dream: to use a Gummi Ship to reach the uncharted area of space. But with the complications, unexpected arrivals, and after shocks, can he really succeed? VanVen Slightly AU.


Ventus is a young mechanic with a big dream: to use a Gummi Ship to reach the uncharted area of space. But with the complications, unexpected arrivals, and after shocks, can he really succeed? VanVen Slightly AU.

**Author's Comments: Well, this is my Fanfiction project. I usually only write original stories, but I want to see if I have the capability of sticking to an existing characterization while giving my own little twist on it. I think it'll be fun! I think I did a fairly good job at keepin' everyone IC. Enjoy and if you enjoy review! Alsoooo, sorry if this chapter was a little dull. I needed to get this out of the way. Next chapter will be filled with an extremely snarky Vanitas I absolutely **_**adore **_**writing. :D **

**Oh, is anybody interested in beta reading this? **

**Chapter One: Semantics and Formalities **

Ventus Wingblade leaned over a large sheet of yellow graphing paper, thin face scrunched together from a mixture of frustration and exhaustion. Thick purple bags were layered under his eyes, azure irises unfocused and disconnected. The green pencil he had in hand was still, standing straight on the pointed top of it, leaving a concentrated dot of lead. He was strumming his fingers on the work table he was currently sitting criss-crossed on top of. The graphing paper had what seemed like millions of pieces of eraser rubbish decorating it, as well as the faded lines of failed designs. The sun was now resting low on the horizon, the orange and yellow light pouring in from the large windows of Ven's workshop. He had been in there since dawn.

It had been a long day with absolutely no progress.

He just couldn't come up with a proper Gummi design for what he wanted to do. Racing Gummies? No problem. Gummi Ships for sea travel? Sure! Air Gummies? A little bit harder, but he was still able to construct those. He couldn't, however, design the one Gummi ship he had been dreaming of designing since he was a young boy.

A Gummi ship with the capability of reaching beyond the Mesosphere of the atmosphere: one that could travel the galaxy and maybe even beyond. A Gummi ship which could not only soar around the sky we can perceive, but one that could be free among the stars and the blackness of space. Think of what could be discovered up in that mysterious uncharted territory; what wonders could lie hidden behind the twinkling constellations. Just the thought of the mysteries and treasures filled Ven's heart with molten joy.

His face relaxed considerably, eyes starting to take in his surroundings once again. He leaned over the graphing paper even more, clutching the pencil with a renewed determination.

All he needed to do was be positive! He believed in himself, and he really wanted this, so that's all he needed. He knew he could do this. He was just missing _something. _

His main strife was that he had no idea how to get past the long journey of the Thermosphere to reach the Exosphere. You see, the atmosphere rises dramatically in temperature and in pressure when entering the Thermosphere, and there has yet to be a synthesis combination and design that will not completely deconstruct or malfunction when forced into those turbulent conditions. It was frustrating; Ventus had some ideals about mixing certain gems and crystals together to try to make some sort of armour that he could build the Gummi ship out of. However, the ones he believe that could withstand the stupid Thermosphere—as well as the ones he had tried in test runs with his lab kit—had had an extremely deadly reaction to being put together. Ven was pretty certain he had tried every single synthesis material available, but to no avail. It was aggravating, but it didn't dishearten the young Gummi mechanic.

He knew he was going to find out eventually.

He just hoped eventually would be soon.

Ven began to draw a synthesis equation involving an Ice Shard and an Energy Crystal, deducing that maybe he could combine the two together so the Energy Crystal increases the capabilities of the Ice Shard. If only he could get his hands on an energy crystal….

"Ventus, open the damn door!"

Ven's eyes went as wide and glowing as an U.F.O. and he scrambled off of his work desk, taking the yellow graphing paper with him. He hit the graphite floor hard, but it was worth it. He ran over to the other side of the room and shoved his rough draft paper in the drawer of his homemade desk. If Cid caught him trying to come up with the space Gummi, he would bash his head in.

Cid, his boss, did not approve of Ven's desires to explore a route to space. He knew that the only reason Cid felt that way was because when he was his age he wanted to explore space too, and he ended up getting the disappointment of his life. He didn't want Ventus to go through that disappointment too, so he acted very violent towards the notation that his employee would _ever _be working on a way to get to the galaxy. He felt a little bad about keeping things this big from his boss, but he knew he'd never be able to give this up.

Ven walked nonchalantly towards the door, sliding the lock up and shifting it to the side to open the door completely. There stood a tall blonde haired man with a gnarled and proud face, the tension and authority practically radiating off of him. To be honest, Cid intimidated Ven. He had the potential (and kind of was) to be a very scary man.

"How's that design for the new racing Gummi going?" he asked, glowering down at the blonde. Ven gave him a small smile and led him over to the other work table that was located in his private shop, gesturing to the red graphing paper. At the top, it included synthesis equations involving the mixing of a Twilight Gem, a Dense Shard, and Lightning Stone. The actual Gummi ship was thin yet hefty, lightly coloured in with a red and black design. A large smile developed on Cid's face, slapping Ven so hard on his back that he staggered forward. All the while, Cid was chackling boisterously, the grin still present on his misshaped face.

"Brilliant, Ventus! You used the Twilight Gem for increased speed, and the Dense Shard for defensive. Usually when you use a Dense against a Twilight it decreases the speeding quality of the Twilight pretty badly, but since you used a Gem against a Shard it balanced out. The lightning stone and the appearance are just added details, of course.

"This was exactly what that punk-ass client was looking for. And it won't even cost that much! Damn it, Ven, this is great!"

Ven had a prodigious smile on his face now, welling with pride. He always liked to be praised for stuff he did, and he worked really hard on the new model he made for Cid Highwind Racing.

Cid Highwind Racing was, really, the main source of entertainment in downtown Twilight Town. They designed, raced, and collected Gummies of all different shapes and sizes. Ever since the end of the TT War, Gummies stopped being used as war machines and more for light-hearted purposes—like entertainment and transportation. It was ironic; they used to be such war devices but now were used to try to help people get over the war.

The TT War, or the Traverse/Twilight War started when Ven was around eight years old, and ended when he was fifteen, three years back. The conflict started over something basic—land—but erupted into a much bigger ordeal when it was revealed that Traverse Town was doing inhumane experiments on individuals they kidnapped from Twilight Town. It ended with a truce of sorts because they settled that they would leave each other alone forever without any more damages. Of course that means that Twilight Town lost a neighbour whom used to be a main ally, but it was worth it if people were going to stop dying.

After the war ended, the people of Twilight Town were in complete disarray. It got to the point where everyone seemed to be going downhill, consumed with grief and sorrow for the thousands that were kidnapped and tested on as well as the thousands that were killed in the war. Even now, three years later, people still struggled through it.

Cid actually started his racing club in an effort to lift the population's spirits. When Ventus heard about the idea, he was immediately on board. He hated to see all the despair by those he had known and cared about his whole entire life, so he really wanted to do something about it. He had also had a fascination in Gummies, but the original idea is what really sold him.

Ven furrowed his eyebrows, looking up at Cid. "What's so wrong with the client?"

The older blonde rolled his eyes, lifting the graphing paper to get a closer look at it.

"Everything. One of the rudest son of a guns I've ever met."

Ven nodded, watching Cid grumble to himself, the words "fucker" and "pompous" involved.

Despite Cid's foul mouth and terrifying appearance, he was actually a really nice guy. He was blunt, loud, yet oddly caring. Ven really respected him.

"Anyways—"Cid said, folding the design and putting it in the back pocket of his trousers, "—someone is here to see you."

Ven sighed, looking longingly to the blue door that led to his bedroom tower. After a day like this, all he wanted to do was cuddle up with a blanket and sleep. Alas….

"Okay, thanks."

He walked over to the coat hanger which signally held a green jumper with two white strips going down both arms. He slid it over his blank white V-neck, lifting it up with a hop to make it settle more. He heaved open big blue door, immediately meeting a rush of cold air. He didn't even realise how hot it was in his workroom.

He walked down the narrow hallway, turning left to go down the lift, which had the floors displayed in clock form, a lightning shaped arrow pointing to the floor he was currently on. He pushed the big red button which opened the door, stepping into the contraption that had a gold carpet-like fabric on the walls. He pushed the 'One' button and listened to variety of noises that the machine made as it slowly made its way down. It made a groaning sound as it settled, hulking forward slightly. Someone should really do something about this.

Ven stepped on the slick tiles of the first floor, looking at the large room with a towering ceiling. Cid had chosen to make the old train station in Twilight Town the headquarters for Cid's Racing after it was blockaded and eventually abandoned during the war. He replaced the area where the trains used to settle as a place for Gummies, as well as build a path to the outside where bleachers to watch the races had been built. He attached different towers connecting to the main one for private workshops and housing, like the one Ven inhabited.

"Ven!" he heard a low voice shout, the blonde snapping his attention towards the ticket booth. His eyes met a muscular man with a wide frame and unruly brown hair that met the base of his neck. He identified that man as one of his closest friends, Terra.

A smile lit ablaze on the blonde face as he jogged on over to his best friend, whom returned the smile.

"What are you doing here, Terra?"

Terra chuckled, ruffling the blonde's vertical spikes.

"Don't want me here, Ven?"

The blonde elevated his hands in defensive, shaking them wildly.

"No, that's not it! I was just—"

"—curious of what I was doing here so close to the race?"

Ven nodded, impressed that Terra guessed it, yet wondering if he was that predictable.

Tomorrow was the opening stage of the event everyone in Twilight Town showed up for: The Highwind Competition.

This competition was for serious Gummi racers. Cid offered all different kinds of sporting involving Gummi ships, whether it be Gummi Gymnastics or Speed racing, the latter being the most popular. This competition took the best of the best Gummi racers from all over and put them in one event to decide who the best among them all was.

Terra was one of those intense racers. He had been racing ever since Cid opened shop four years back, and had turned into the pride and joy of Twilight Town. He had won the Highwind Competition the last four years in a row, which united the citizens even more, and was how he met his girlfriend.

Aqua had originally been someone whom did Gummi Gymnastics for fun, until she started getting into the mechanics of it all. Once she got good at that, Cid ended up employing her, and she met Terra because she had to be his mechanic. It was a bit like love at first site, and they had been a team ever since.

What surprised Ven, though, was that Terra was even out of his workshop. The day before every race he took part in Aqua and him spent the day fawning over the Gummi he would be using. He should be in hermit mode right now.

"I just wanted to know if you had met," he lowered his voice, leaning in, "the Traverse Town fellow yet?"

Ven looked bemused, smiling as he had no idea what was going on.

"Uh?"

It was Terra's turn to look bemused, leaning back.

"…..Did Cid not mention anything?"

Ven shook his head furiously, "Nothing."

Terra seemed to be contemplating. Ven bit his lip in anticipation. _What _hadn't Cid told him yet? What _about _Traverse Town?

"Well, a competitor from Traverse Town is participating tomorrow in the race. Cid said he was going to use you as the Touch-Up Mechanic for him."

"_Traverse Town!" _

Ventus couldn't believe it! He had nothing against a foreign coming, nor did he have trouble with being a Touch-Up Mechanic, but Traverse Town! Wow!

Terra put a tan hand on his best friend's mouth, shutting him up.

"_Please_ don't tell anyone. Cid plans to let him compete and hang around so when he reveals they're from Traverse Town everyone could see that they are not so bad."

Before he met Aqua, Terra would've never said something like this. You see, Terra was a solider during the war, so he saw firsthand what those experiments were like. Ven was pretty sure it scarred him for night. He knew he still thought about it because Aqua told him that there were still some nights that he would wake up from shock and terror.

Because of that, Terra developed a deep-seated hatred for anything that had been produced from Twilight Town, including the people. A lot of people felt that way after the war, so immigrants from Traverse kept it pretty hushed that they were from there, hoping the ones that already knew wouldn't bring it up. Aqua was one of those immigrants. She was scared to bring it up to Terra once they started dating, confiding in Ven when times got difficult because of how much she wanted to tell him.

When she did so, Terra didn't care because he was so head-over-heels with her. It actually made him realise how ridiculous it was to hate everyone from Traverse Town for the actions of what a group of individuals did.

Ven never found himself hating anyone from Traverse Town. He did hate the people that did those horrible experiments, but not the people that had nothing to do with it. They were probably as shocked as he was when they were figuring out what was dwelling in the metaphorical undergrounds of their domain.

"Okay, I won't tell," he said, watching as Terra's face visibly relaxed. He didn't even realise it was so tensed up. This really meant a lot to Terra, probably because Aqua's family was in Traverse Town and he had been raving about how he wished he could meet them.

"I just wish we didn't have to be so sneaky about it."

Terra nodded, "Yeah, Ven, I know. Sometimes it's gotta be like this."

Terra ruffled his hair once again, the blonde pouting in the slightest. He hated when Terra treated him like a kid, but allowed him to do it anyways.

"In any case, do you know where I can find Cid? I need to speak with him about something."

Ven narrowed his eyes. What would Terra need to talk to Cid about? Something about the new Traverse Town guy? Speaking of that…

"When is this guy coming anyways? Also, how did Cid get a hold of someone in Traverse Town? Oh, and, what do you need to talk to Cid about?"

"You ask far too many questions, Ventus."

No he didn't! He was just….curious. It was healthy curiosity.

They stared at each other for a second before Terra sighed in submission.

"He was supposed to be here today, Cid wouldn't tell me that, and it's something about Traverse Town competitor."

Knew it.

Ven smiled brightly up at Terra, "Thanks!"

Terra winced, almost like he was trying to block the light from Ven's smile.

"No problem."

Terra waved and jogged over to the lift, waving at Ven one final time before going inside.

What would the guy from Traverse Town be like? Would he be cool? Fun? Nice? Quiet? _Scary? _The excitement of the new prospect boiled down in his stomach. He couldn't wait!

He would have to wait till tomorrow to meet him, though. He was _exhausted. _He was about to make his way to the lift when his stomach roared, and not from excitement. He just realised he hadn't eaten all day. He had spent too much time trying to come up with a design for his Space Gummi.

He flushed embarrassingly when the girl running the ticket booth counter giggled, smiling lightly at her. It seemed to be her turn to flush, as she giggled louder and looked down. Ven didn't understand why she did that, but he was okay with it.

He rhythmically jogged down the stairs that were next to the ticket booth, pushing open the huge doors into outside Twilight Town.

* * *

><p>Ever since Ventus was a young boy, he had been enthralled with the sky. He can remember with distinct clarity the first of many times he spent a day just staring up at it. He was six years of age; it was his and Roxas's birthday. Roxas wasn't a party child (nor was he now, frankly) but Ven was delighted that all his friends from pre-school would be coming over to his house.<p>

When all of them came, Ven has a blast playing games like Pin the Tail on the Donkey, Heads-Up-Seven-Up, and Ghost in the Graveyard. Roxas even ended up joining the game after a while!

But, it was when they were playing tag that someone had accidently knocked Ven open is when he fell to the ground, taking a look at the great blue mass above him. The feeling he got then was...indescribable.

He couldn't believe that he hadn't seen it like this before. It was beautiful—absolutely breathtaking—and all Ven wanted to do was soar through it.

He remembered all his friends and family gathering around him to see if he was okay, and all he did was shout gleefully,

"I think I'm going to spend the rest of the party looking at the sky!"

Ventus felt the same way today as he looked out into the setting sun through the smudged diner window. He would probably feel this way for the rest of his life.

Ventus was in a small diner called 'Nobodies' that he liked going to. It was cheap, quiet, and the people in there were remarkably friendly. He really liked the atmosphere.

However, something was a little different today. Only regulars came in here, and there was a fellow sitting in the far corner of the shop that he didn't recognise.

Just like the sky, he had a hard time describing him. He was long, but certainly not lanky. More toned; muscular. He was on the lighter shade of the skin tone pallet, which was complimented with black hair more unruly and obstreperous than Terra's and Ventus's combined. He was wearing a red jumper that fit on his body lazily, a contrast to black pants that fit perfectly. The thing that really caught Ven's attention, however, was his eyes. Despite the orange light pouring in from the plastic windows, they stood out brightly. They were gold; liquid gold, and wild. They were almost intoxicating.

Ven flushed when azure met gold, looking down at a particularly interesting spot on the checker table. How long had he been staring?

He heard a chair screech on the floor, causing him to flush more, this time out of panic. Hopefully it's just a coincidence that he was leaving now and not because this guy was going to come over. Like clockwork, he watched at the top of his eyes as the man walked over, a small smirk on his face. Ven leaned back.

It would probably be best to act nonchalant.

He was bewildered when that man sat in the chair across from him, looking at him strangely expectantly.

"Hey there."

His voice was playful, almost mocking.

"Hi."

An awkward silence was shared between the two for about a minute, but it felt like hours for Ven. He didn't know why, but this person made him very fidgety. He didn't like it. He was done with his food, so maybe he could just—

"Your name is Ventus, isn't it?"

Ven finally looked at him, flabbergasted. How did he know his name?

"Y-yeah, it is."

The raven-like man nodded, picking out a packet of sugar and ripping it open, slowly pouring all the contents on the table.

"Thought so. You're supposed to be my mechanic for tomorrow."

Wait, this was the guy from Traverse Town? And how did he know what Ven looked like?

"How did you know?"

The man picked up another sugar packet, repeating the same process, except slower this time.

"They gave me this profile thing. Apparently to, 'Get to Know Your Mechanic!' and something about a deep personal bond you should have with them. Bullshit.

"It had a summary and a picture of you, but I didn't read it. Did you write it yourself? The opening sentence wasn't particularly grabbing. I always looked to be thrilled and intrigued when I read. You should work on that."

The blonde was having a seriously hard time figuring out if this guy was serious or sarcastic, because that mocking tone seemed to be a permanent thing. In any case, it rubbed him the wrong way.

Ven said the first thing that came to mind, "You sure have a mouth on you."

The man raised his eyebrows, looking mildly surprised but heavily amused.

"No shit, Sherlock."

Ven scowled. This guy _really_ rubbed him the wrong way.

"Great first impression."

The man laughed, but it sounded more like a cackle. It was a bit disturbing, really.

"Really? I'm glad you think so."

Ventus rolled his eyes. He usually didn't like being this nasty to people, but nastiness practically _screamed _off this guy. He couldn't help himself.

The man, however, seemed like he was having fun. He picked up yet another sugar packet, doing the same thing. It started bothering the blonde; wasn't that wasting perfectly good sugar? Some people _slave _in order to obtain that stuff.

"Why are you doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"_That," _Ven said, pointing to the now pile of white matter.

"To make the clean-up job for these kiddies," he gestured to the workers, "harder."

Ven scowled, getting up from his seat. He couldn't deal with this guy for over ten minutes, how was he going to deal with him tomorrow?

The man got a look on his face, but he was still smiling. "Leaving, so soon? We were just starting to get along!"

The blonde rolled his eyes, leaving the fee on his counter. He left a bigger tip than usual because he knew the janitors would have to clean up the mess that the raven made. He left the establishment, one thing running through his head:

_I don't like that guy. _

And as the black-haired man leaned back in his chair, smirking at the ceiling, the only thing that was running through his head was:

_This is going to be fun. _


End file.
